Activision Imply Only One Next-Gen Console Is Out Next Year, But Which One?

And it's not the Wii U, silly.

Activision, the publisher behind behemoth Call Of Duty, has implied that there’ll be just the one next-generation console released next year.
In their latest earnings report, the figures spoke for themselves. In the third quarter of the current fiscal year they brought in nearly $850 million in net revenue (with $430 of that from digital sales). Activision now have no debt, and more than $3 billion in cash and investments.
Bobby, there, smiling.
CEO Bobby Kotick said that there’s going to be a decline next year though. “As we look to calendar 2013, we remain cautious in light of a challenging worldwide macroeconomic environment,” he said, “the ongoing console transition and difficult year-over-year comparables as a result of Blizzard’s record-shattering success with Diablo III in 2012.”
But those next generation consoles? “We can’t really talk too much about next generation console plans,” said Kotick when asked by those on the investment conference call, “but I think it’s safe to say you have a Wii U coming out and there will be another new console coming and we expect that they’ll be very successful.”Another new console? Not two new consoles? Many assumed both Sony and Microsoft would show off their new tech this year at E3, let alone next year. Does Bobby know something we don’t, or is he just guessing? Answers on a postcard, please.
At least support is pretty much guaranteed. “We always evaluate all platforms with an eye towards being able to create the most compelling differentiated content,” he added.
“And whether it’s Facebook as a platform or tablets or mobile devices platforms, once we think that we can put our best creative foot forward and we can deliver something that’s compelling and engaging and meaningfully different and really capitalize on the capabilities of a new platform, we’ll support it.”
The PS4 is expected to be revealed at a pre-E3 event next year. We discussed what that might mean here, with many of you commenting. Does this mean that Microsoft won’t have a successor to the Xbox 360 next year? Or are they banking everything on the new Xbox Surface?

Ok guys this is my first official (albeit preemptive) warning: I'm going to give an infraction to anyone who says anything bad about Kotick. The man has done wonders for the industry and the games that he has released via his company have been nothing short of unique, innovative and inspiring so I don't want to hear ANY thing bad said about him...OK? You have been warned...

Would it better either of them in the long run to launch a year after the other? Or worsen their stance? Frankly given the duration of this gen I expect new hardware at this years E3, but if not they better make up for it in kick ass quality games!

Ok guys this is my first official (albeit preemptive) warning: I'm going to give an infraction to anyone who says anything bad about Kotick. The man has done wonders for the industry and the games that he has released via his company have been nothing short of unique, innovative and inspiring so I don't want to hear ANY thing bad said about him...OK? You have been warned...

OT: 720 next year is my guess. PS4 2014.

Can we still make fun of Newel and Wada?

Hoping its the PS4, if not, December 2013 for 720 and no more than March 2014 for Orbis!

PS4 dev kits have just now went out. Normally I believe it is 2yrs after dev kits go out that the console is released to the public. Companies need time to make launch games.

I think Microsoft beats Sony to the punch again.

That depends on how much easier it is to develop for the hardware. If it's equally or better then the PSVita then developers can pull a game out sooner. Of course the games won't really push the PS4's hardware but something is better then no launch titles(Exclusive wise).

I do know that most 3rd party developers are already working on next gen games.

I know it is quite a possibility that the PS4 won't arrive until 2014, but I am hoping that they learned their lesson from the PS3/Xbox360 launch that being out of the gate sooner than later is a much needed thing...what also delayed the PS3 so much was all the new tech inside of it and trying to get higher yield rates on the Cell processor as well as the whole Blu-ray diode shortage issue...hopefully the PS4/Orbis will use more "off the shelf" tech and they will make it much easier to program...I am going to keep my fingers crossed for 2013 still!

The subject line is all $#@!ed up, he never said that. This is what Kotick said, "I think it’s safe to say you have a Wii U coming out and there will be another new console coming and we expect that they’ll be very successful."

He doesn't say anything about it being next year or that it is the only for the rest of all time. This practice of over-reading what is there needs to come to an end. It demonstrates reading comprehension illiteracy to keep reading what is not there. It's pretty much a given the 720 is going to be next year, so there is the new console. Almost nobody is rationally believing the PS4 will launch next year. The most likely scenario is 720 revealed at E3 2013, launching later in the year, Sony reveals PS4 alpha devkit, PS4 launches in Japan in spring 2014.

If it unfolds this way, it could work out very well for Sony. Everybody says, oh, they can't take being second to market again (bear in mind, this nincompoop statement is being made while global PS3 sales pass the 360, and the 360 ends up last place). But if the PS4 alpha devkit is much more powerful than the 720 with some real mindblowing features, like thought control controller as extra controller in the box, then this could cause a pause for gamers to consider waiting until the PS4 comes out rather than buying a 720 which already looks like it will have a GPU that will be 2 generations behind PC GPU's by 2013.

The other factor is late 2013 is going to be a terrible time for a new console launch. Europe is going to plunge into a near depression by then and will only start climbing back out by spring 2014, a much better time to launch a new console.

Last edited by Bligmerk; 11-09-2012 at 17:31.

Pacing in wait of Sony's imminent DOOM!...since 2006

PS4 - The Only Hardcore Gaming Console = All Your Baserape Are Belong To Us

The other factor is late 2013 is going to be a terrible time for a new console launch. Europe is going to plunge into a near depression by then and will only start climbing back out by spring 2014, a much better time to launch a new console.

When that rumor came out, the Interwebz splooged all over itself, mainly because at the time, a Power7 was $4000. Now, this leak of the Xbox Stationary shows dual Power7 CPU's which is what I was saying would be in the PS4 back in 2009. It's obvious that Sony and Microsoft went to IBM for the same next-gen console CPU, mostly backward compatible with the Cell and the 3-Core PPC. The only unique difference was the Cell was constrained by memory costs at the time, with an asymmetric architecture. The Power7 is 8 full cores with a symmetric architecture. It just means the Cell architecture is a subset of the Power7 architecture.

The big difference is going to be the GPU. We know the Xbox Stationary is already locked in, at the end of 2012, and probably was locked in this last summer, basically narrowing it down to a 7XXX, supported by the reference to a 28nm GPU in the leaked Xbox Stationary spec.

Pacing in wait of Sony's imminent DOOM!...since 2006

PS4 - The Only Hardcore Gaming Console = All Your Baserape Are Belong To Us

It just means the Cell architecture is a subset of the Power7 architecture.

I was with you up to this statement, which I believe to be fairly incorrect. The only thing in terms of architecture that the Cell and Power7 really shared is the PPE being the same Core lineage as what the Power7's cores are. From a device architecture standpoint, they are fairly different beasts.

So while there is a part of the Cell that is a subset of a part of a Power7, the Cell architecture could not be said to be a subset of the Power7 architecture.

I was with you up to this statement, which I believe to be fairly incorrect. The only thing in terms of architecture that the Cell and Power7 really shared is the PPE being the same Core lineage as what the Power7's cores are. From a device architecture standpoint, they are fairly different beasts.

So while there is a part of the Cell that is a subset of a part of a Power7, the Cell architecture could not be said to be a subset of the Power7 architecture.

Not literally that there is Cell architecture on-chip. Just that one full core can easily emulate one SPU, with 8 full cores. This would be just for BC (backward compatibility) and the PS4 will be running in almost idle mode running in PS3 configuration.

It doesn't really have much to do with next gen. As far as next gen goes, it is pedal to the metal with whatever dual Power7 with 16 full cores can do, which is going to be a hella lot.

Pacing in wait of Sony's imminent DOOM!...since 2006

PS4 - The Only Hardcore Gaming Console = All Your Baserape Are Belong To Us

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